Annuals or suffruticose, erect to ± spreading perennials
Leaves simple, unlobed, lanceolate to nearly orbicular, dentate, shortly petiolate; stipules subulate to narrowly lanceolate to nearly orbicular
Flowers axillary, solitary or in few-flowered clusters
Epicalyx of 3 linear to lanceolate bracts free to base, shorter than calyx
Calyx campanulate, foliaceous in fruit
Petals scarcely longer than calyx, yellow or yellow-orange
Staminal tube shorter than petals; filaments divided at apex into ± 20-40 anthers
Gynoecium of 10-15, 1-ovulate carpels; style branches as many as carpels, filiform; stigmas capitate
Fruit a discoid schizocarp separating into 10-15, 1-seeded, indehiscent, reniform, laterally flattened, shortly-awned, hispid mericarps
Seeds reniform, glabrous
x = 6 (5, 8) (polyploidy)
Nomenclature:
*Malvastrum A.Gray
Gray: 21 (1849) name conserved
Meeuse: 503 (1960)
Krapovickas: 209 (1965)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species ± 12, warm-temperate to tropical Americas, 2 naturalised worldwide
Southern Africa: Species 1: *Malvastrum coromandelianum (L.) Garcke, widespread
References:
GRAY, A. 1849. Malvastrum A.Gray. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Science, new series 2,4
KRAPOVICKAS, A. 1965. Malvaceae. Flora de la Provincia de Buenos Aires 4
MEEUSE, A.D.J. 1960. In A.W. Exell, Malvaceae. Flora zambesiaca 1
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
